Improvement in fire-place heaters



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. I. W. -IQEALL l FIRE-mm1: HEATER, No.174,654. FatentedMarch 14, 1.876'.

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2 Sheets-Sheet Z.

I. W. BEALL.

FIRE-PLACE HEATER.

No.1'74s,554:. Patented March14;1876,

ISAAC W. BEALL, OF SEWIOKLY, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND PBILLIP H.

STEVESON, OF MOON TOWNSHIP, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA.

IMPROVEMENT IN i-'IiE-FLACE HEATERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l74,654, dated March14, 1876; application filed February 12, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ISAAC W. BEALL, ofSewickly, count-y of Allegheny, State of `Pennsylvania, have invented ordiscovered a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Place Heaters; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, concise and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing,making a part of this specification, in which-like letters indicatinglike parts- Figure l represents, in perspective, my improved furnace, asplaced in an ordinarychimney, the wall A of the chimney being brokenaway in part. Fig. 2 is a front perspective view of the same, apart frominclosing Walls or chimney. Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the line:t fr, Fig. 2, the parts represented being shown in perspective. Fig. 4Lis a detached view of the escape-filles w 1 7 y on the back of thefurnace. Fig. 5 represents a metallic plate or diaphragm used to dividethe burning fuel in the fire basket or grate, and is shown in positionin Fig. 3 by the dotted lines b b. Fig. b' shows more fully the mannerin -which this plate or diaphragm. is secured in position, along withother features of my invention, presently to be described 5I and Fig. 7represents a part of a movable hearth-piece shown inposition at r, Fig.3.

My improved grate or furnace is designed to occupy the same position inan ordinary house-chimney as the common open coalgrate.

The walls of the chimney A, Fig. 1, form an outside casin g orvinclosure for the several parts of the furnace, and the open space Bbetween these inclosing-wa-lls and the parts of the furnace proper isused as an air-chamber, cold air being admitted through suitableopenings at or nea-r the bottom of the furnace, as-at j'. The air, beingheated by the heat radiated and conducted from the inclosed parts of thefurnace, rises and is conveyed by pipes O .and registers L to anydesired part of the house.

As illustrated in Fig. l, the pipes O may be laid between the joists ofthe iioor E, or arranged in any other desirable way, and the registers Lmay open from these pipes O or open through the chimney-walls from theairchamber B direct into the adjoining rooms,

While the grate or lire-chamber may open into the same or another roomof the house, as in the case of ordinary grates. Thus my improved heaterserves the purpose of the ordigrates. -The [ire-basket a a1 c, whichholds the burning fuel, is composed of the front and rear grates c al,which are suspended at the ends of the top bar of each of the grates onthe pivot c2. Each grate is thus free to swing back and forth upon itspivots c2 as a center.

These grates form the front and rear and a part of the bottom ofthelire'basket. The remainder ofthe bottom ofthe basket is formed by A theangular connecting-piece c, Figs. 2, 3, and 6, which hooks to or isjointed with the bottom bars a3 c4 of both the front and rear gra-tes cci in such manner that it may be readily removed, but whilein place theWhole fire-basket may be swung or agitated back and forth.

In Fig. 6 I have showna convenient method of connecting this bridgepiecec with the grate-bars a, ct. rBhe hook b3- may engage one of the lowergrate-bars, as a3, andthe hook b4 the other grate-bar a4. As thehre-basket is swung or agitated the'front and rear grates c a1 may thuseach swing upon its own pivots a2 as a center, while the angularbridge-piece c, which connects them at the bottom, will not only moveback and forth across the space between the grates a al, but will alsohave a small upward and downward motion in the same space, thus moreeffectually stirring the lower part ofthe tire, and clearing it of ashesand other residua of combustion.

For purposes presently to be described# prefer to make this angularconnecting-piece c soliden one of its inclining faces, and grated orwith suitable openings on its other face or inclination, as seen inFigs. 3 and 6; and it is also made reversible end for end, thus bringingthe grated or solid faces either to the front or rear halt' of thetire-basket, as desired. The purposes served by this reversible featureof the connecting-piece c will presently appear. The curved plate ordiaphragm b, Figs. 3, 5, and 6, is connected with the angular piece e bypins b1, which pass down through openings in the apex ofthe piece c, asat b2, Figs. 3 and 6; or it may be connected in any other suitable way,leaving the plate bsut'tcient freedom of motion, so that, as thebridge'piece c moves back and forth, the plate bv may not press so as tobind against the fuel in either the front or rear parts of thefire-basket. The plate b may be supported in a sufiiciently uprightposition either by its manner ot' connection With lthe piece c, or bylugs or pins el projecting from the end ofthe chamber in the front andrear ot' the piece b. I iind a convenient support to consist in pins b1passing through the angular bridge-piece c, and pressing against eitherface of the bridge-piece, on its under side, or against the lugs b5,Fig. 6, which prevents it from falling in one direction, as forward, anda pin or lug, el, Fig. 3, to prevent it from falling in the oppositedirection 5 or these pins b1 maysupport the diaphragm b from falling in.either direction by coming against the, bridge-piece, as seen in Fig. 6,sufiicient play being allowed between the two supports to allow thetire-basket to he readily agitated. The purpose of this plate b is, todivide the re when desired, and also along with the solid inclination ofthe bridgepiece c (when such inclination is placed forward as shown inFig. 3,) to direct the draft which enters through the front gratedupward, and prevent it from passing through the body ot' the fire directto the back tlues or openings. The ends of the hre-basket are formed bythe end ot' the common combustioni chamber, and may be lined with iii-ebrick or tile, or other refractory material, as shown at d, Figs. 2 and3.

Directly beneath the grates or trebasket, I construct a smoke and .gaschamber, G, as follows: The plates g g are hinged to the bottom bars a3(dof the grates a a1. These plates g g pass down and outside of theplates h 11.1, which are pivoted to the ends of the furnace-frame by therods h2 h3. The plates lL tl are pivoted below their centers ot'gravity, and pins or lugs c2 in the cud of the furnace'fra-me preventthe upper and heavier half of the plates from swinging to or beyond thevertical line of its suspension. Thus the extra weight of the upper partot' the plates rhl tends to keep the two plates closed or in contact atthe bottom, and the plates h h1 are so hung in relation to the plates gg that, as ltheplates la h1 are closed at their through the hre beforethey are allowed to escape through the escape-line, the plates g g and'IL h1, which form the sides and bottom of the chamber G, being hingedand pivoted as dcscribed. As the grates a a are agitated or swung, theseplates will also be agitated, and the ashes and other residua whichenter this gas-chamber between them will be prevented from adhering tothe sides of the chamber, and allowed to pass out between the loweredges of the plates l1, h1, into the ash-pit H in the basement below.Such part of the ashes as falls through the grate a1, back of thisgaschamber, will be conducted by the inclined sides of the furnace caseor framejj1 into the same ash-pit H, while such part as falls from thefront grate c will be received by theash or sifting-pans m m, Fig. 2,which have openings or grates to permit the ashes to pass throughl whilethe ciuders are retained, and such part of the ashes as passes throughthese pans is conducted by the sidesj2 of' the furnace to the ash-pit H.

The sitting-pans m m are so made as to be readily removable, and theciuders and other contents may be emptied into the fire and reburned.

Between these pans on m and the hearthpiece a of the furnace I leave aspace through which vertically-.sliding doors o o pass, and to coverthis space when the doors are up or down I iit a false or movinghearth-piece, r, to the under side ofthe hearth-piece a. Springs s s areattached to the front or jamb ot' the furnace-frame, and so connectedwith the hearth-piece r as to cause it to cover the space between thepans m m and heartlrpiece n, when the doors are up or down, as shown inFigs. 1, 2, 3. A detached view of a part of this movable hearth-piece r,with one of the springs s attached,` is shown in Fig. 7. v

The doors 0 o are made to slide vertically, one outside of the other, asthe sash of an 'ordinary window, and are preferably counter balanced byweights p, Fig. 2, suspended by pulley and cord at each side of thedoors. I

' prefer to make the face of the doors angular in form instead of plane,the surface being cast with variously-designed openings or latticework,and lined with mica. plates. These doors may be made in a single piece,forming one door instead ot' two, but I consider two preferable,because, by properly adjusting them with reference to each other, anopening for admitting draft to the tire may be made at diiferent points,the doors thus serving the purpose ot' the ordinary blower or draftfront, as well as closing entirely the front of the tire-chamber foreither safety or couvenience. 'To the upperedge of each of these doors Iattach loops or tags o, for convenience in moving` the doors. These tagsremain a 'remesa 3 little above the hearth a when' the doors are shoveddown, as seen in Fig. 2, and serve not only as a convenience in drawingthe doors up, but also, by their curvedform, press back the movablehearth-piece r as the doors are raised.

The springs s s are also curved, and the in ward deflection passes intoslots c in the lower edges ofthe lower door,when itis raised up, and asthe doors are pushed down the edges of the doors press against theinward deflection of the springs s s and force them outward, and withthem thehearth-piece r. 4 Thus, by the combined form of the tags e,springs s s, and door edges, the upward or downward moving of the doorswill, at the proper time, move aside the hearthpiece r and open apassage for the doors, the action of the springs s s closing the passageafter them.

In the crown ofthe hre-chamber is a damper, dl, which opens and closes apassage from the tire-chamber to the iiue d2, Fig. 3, which passes backover the top of the fire-chamber and discharges into the commonescape-flue y. Thus a direct draft is secured from the iire totheescape-flue. But, to secure the full benefit of the several devices inmy furnace, I close this damper d', when the smoke and other products ofcombustion pass upward to theupcast iiucs k k, the opening to one ofwhich is shown in the crown of the tire-chamber K, Fig. 3.

lThe smoke and gases are conducted by these `upcast tlues k k upward forany desired distance and returned by the downcast dues 7c 7c', whichdischarge intothe.smoke-chamber G immediately under the tire, one ofwhich discharge-openings is shown at K', Fig. 3. From this cham ber thesmoke and gases pass through the back part of the angular bridge-piecec, (when it is in the position shown in Fig. 3,) and up through the tirein the back part of the lire-basket.

In this passage through the re the free carbon in the smoke, carboniooxide, and what other combustible gases are present, will he whollyconsumed-that is, resolved into the products of a perfect combustion.These resulting products pass either to side chambers through the gratesc1 c2, or through the grate a1 tothe back chamber lying between thegrate c1 and furnace-casing jl. The regulator e, Fig. 3, being raised,these products will pass under it to the escape-flue y, and also to theiiues 'w w, which are the lower part of the downcast tlues q q', one ofwhich flues, w, is shown in Fig. et. 'lhe gaseous products are thenceconducted bythe cross-fines w1 w1, to the common escape-tine y, and thewhole is discharged. By adjusting the damper e, Fig. 3, the whole or apart of the gaseous products may be sent through the end gratings cl c2,whence they are conveyed by the upcast iiues q q, upward for any desireddistance, (see Figs. l. and 2,) and returned by the dowucast lines q qto the cross iiues zu 1c', through which they will be discharged intothe escape- 'iiue y, along with that part coming up through the iiues wl1,0 from the back chamber, between al and jl. The height to which theup and down cast iiues are extended is immaterial, and in this respectas well as in regard to their size they may conform tothe conditionsfurnished by the house to which the furnaceis applied. The principalobject in extending these ues is to give a longer passage to the vheatedgases through the air-chamber B, in-

closed by the chimney walls A. When adapted to a house of two storiesfor warming rooms on either iioor, I prefer to extend, say, the upcastiiues 1 q, Fig. 1, a little above the second iioor, into the spaceordinarily occupied by a grate, and the remaining upcast tlues k k Iextend to the top of the mantel, or nearly to the second floor. At theupper limit of the air-chamber B, I place across the chimney a tile, z,leaving sufficient opening for the e'scape-hue y. The heated air is thusconfined to the chamber B, and may be admitted to the desired roomsthrough the registers L, as before described.

When at any time only a small re is desired, and that to warm the roominto which the hre-chamber opens, I prefer to shift the van, i;ularbridge-piece c so as to bring the grated inclination forward and buildthe fire in the forward haltl of the-tire basket only, when, by openingthe damper d1, a direct communication is secured to the escape-flue y.Thus my improved furnace may furnish all the advantages of an openagitating-grate, or when desired, combine therewith the many desirablequalities of ahouse-warming furnace.

The ash-pan H I support on suitable sliding ways, so that it may bereadily drawn out and its contents removed, and when the chimney isbuilt against the outer wall of the house .the ash-pan H may be made toslide toits place from theoutside through the foundationwall, thusmaking it more easy to remove the contents. Ordinary ilues or pipes areprovided for furnishing cold air to the air-chamber B at the points f,and the bottom of the air-chamber at the base of the furnace is closedtight to exclude cellar air. When using both divisions of thehre-basket, I prefer to-keep the rear division nearly full vof fuel, soas to cover or nearly cover the flue-openings through al and 0102, thuspreventing any tendency of the indraft to pass through them to theescape-flue y, instead of rst passing through the tlues k 7c.

The operation of my furnace or heater is as follows: I kindle a fire inthe fire-basket or grate a a c, and, if desired, adjust the doors o o toregulate and direct the draft to the front grate a, and also the damper(l1 may be turned to open a direct passage from the fire to theescape-flue y, when my furnace will operate `asthe ordinary open grate.But, as soon as the tire is well started, I prefer to close the passageat d1, and the flue-openings at c1 c2, and al being covered with fuelthe smoke and heated gases escaping from the upper surface of the firewill rise to the upcast ues la lc and be conducted by them and thedowncast iues t- 7c to the chamber G, immediately under the fire. Theangular bridge-piece c being placed as shown in Fig. 3, with its gratedor open inclination next the rear-grate al,

the smoke and gases will pass through these closing entirely the wholewill pass to the side openings 0102; but I prefer to permit a part topass through this opening to the flues 1v. w, and y, as the action ot'-the two currents through the cross-fines w w is beneficial to the draftof the flues q q.

When it is desired to leave a fire unattend ed through the night, or atany time, the doors o o may be raised in front ofthe fire, as in Fig. l,thus insuring safety and economy by lessening the draft to the lire; or,when desired, they may be partly or wholly removed, as in Fig. 2, bymoving them below the hearth, as described.

By connecting` a suitable hook to the projecting loop d, Fig.- 2, theWhole grate or firebnsket may be agitated by swinging it on the pivotsa2, and the combined action ofthe front and rear gratos a al and angularbridge-piece c changes the form ot the receptacle as it is sprung, andeii'ectually sifts out ashes and other residua, and at the same timeeffectually stirs the fuel and increases the fire. And

while I gain in this way a perfect combustion of fuel, as well as aconvenient and ornamental pen grate, I also economize the heat radiatedand conducted from the several parts of the inrnace by constructing anair-chamber between the walls of the chimney and the furnace, asdescribed.

I claim as my invention- 1. A swinging lire-basket consisting of thefront and rear grates a al, and connectingbridge c, constructed andarran ged substantiall y as described, whereby the front and rear gratesa al each swing upon its pivots a2 as a center, and give thebridge-piec`e c an upward and downward and backward and forward movementwithin lthe space between the grates a al.

-2. The angular bridgepiece c for connecting the gra-tes a a1 at thebottom by a pivotcd or hinged joint, constructed substantially asdescribed.

The combination of the grates a al angular piece c, and diaphragm b,constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

4. The smoke and gas chamber G, having l vibratory or oscillating sidesand bottom, constructed and arranged substantially as and for thepurposes described.

5. The combination of the fire-basket a a1 0,'

dues le k lo 7c', and gas-chamber G, arranged substantially as and forthe purposes described.

6. The combination of the vertically-adjustable doors o o', and movablehearth-piece r, and springs s, constructed and arranged substantially asset forth.

' 7. The combination ofthe rebasket a al c, gas and vapor chamber ajl,and flues w ur y, arranged substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ISAAC W. BEALL.

Witnesses 'OLAUDIUs L. PARKER, J AMES M. CHRISTY.

